Not The Same


“Pentecost” Jean Restout II in 1732
Google “Pentecost” images and you will discover all kinds of Pentecost type images, artwork, icons, and symbols. Undoubtedly, the one image that will appear first in your Google search is the “Pentecost” artwork by Jean Restout II. It is just not the same as the others!
This masterpiece of the 18th century is enormous. The painting is 183” x 306 ¼.” The painting once adorned the refectory (dining room) of the Abbey of Saint-Denis outside Paris. It has been part of the artwork of the Louvre in Paris since 1944.
(Click on this link for a very cool panoramic view of the room in the Louvre where Jean Restout II’s “Pentecost” resides.)
The “Pentecost” was originally a much larger artwork. It was wider and had an arched top displaying a dove symbolizing the descent of the Holy Spirit. From this dove once radiated golden shafts of light that streamed down upon the apostles.
Jean Restout II’s masterpiece is not like other Pentecost paintings. He captures the high drama of the events of that day! The apostles demonstrate all kinds of emotion at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit – fear, awe, amazement, power, humility, etc. Mary, the mother of Jesus, stands at the center. She appears calm and blessed. Very similar to the way I picture her with the angel Gabriel at the annunciation or when the shepherds show up in the stable at Jesus’ birth or with Simeon at the temple with the 8-day old Jesus.
Mary and the disciples were not the same after Pentecost, either!
Before this date, Mary and Jesus’ brothers may have questioned His divinity and authority, and on at least one occasion thought that He was “out of His mind” (Matthew 12:46; Mark 3:21). Peter was not strong enough to stand up for Jesus to a servant girl (Matthew 26:69). The rest of the disciples took turns doubting, questioning, refusing to believe, jockeying for positions of power, and cowering in fear.
All of them are so much like all of us!
  • We hear Jesus speaking to us in His Word, but then ignore what He has been telling us.
  • We commit ourselves to the Lord in our public confirmation ceremony, but then cower in fear when someone questions our God.
  • We trust in the Lord when things are going well, but doubt His love when things are going poorly.
  • We love it when Jesus is displaying His power in healing our child in the hospital room, but then think He is “out of His mind” when we are at the funeral home.

After the Pentecost event, the apostles were never the same! I don’t know if any of the other followers of Jesus – besides His mother, Mary, and John, the disciple whom He loved – had the courage to climb Golgotha’s hill on Friday afternoon. They may or may not have seen the crucified Christ.
But they certainly saw the resurrected Christ (Acts 1:3)!
And they received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17)!
On the surface, the apostles look the same. Peter is still bold. Nathanael is still contemplative. Philip is still calculating. Andrew is still identifying. Thomas is still validating.
They look the same. But they aren’t …
They have seen the resurrected Christ! They have received the Holy Spirit!
Peter is no longer afraid of servant girls beside an early morning fire. Now he is preaching boldly to thousands gathered in Jerusalem (Acts 2:14).
Philip is no longer wondering how so many can be fed on a hillside (John 6:5). Now he is driving out evil spirits and baptizing Ethiopian eunuchs (Acts 8).
James, Jude, and the other brothers of Jesus are no longer unbelievers. Now they are bold witnesses for the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:7; Jude).
The risen Christ has appeared to them. The heavenly Father has forgiven them. The Holy Spirit dwells within them. They are not the same. And because they are different, so is the world.
The Holy Spirit has been poured out on you in your Baptism. The heavenly Father has forgiven you in the Absolution following your confession of sins. The risen Christ speaks to you in your Bible.

The apostles were not the same after their dramatic encounter with the Triune God … and neither are you. 

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